Latest Rumors: 06/13/2008 Click here to read more

Well, I, as well as most of the internet were wrong in predicting an update to the Canon EOS 5D (either a Canon EOS 5D Mark II or Canon EOS 7D).

After PMA came and went, I heard that Canon representatives were telling customers that Canon’s consumer lines were on 18 month product cycles, something everyone who follows Canon should know by know. However, note that the representatives mention “consumer” line specifically. Something that never really crossed my mind was that the Canon EOS 5D is not a consumer camera. That’s not to say I never saw the Canon EOS 5D as a professional camera, but I think being a new model, you don’t see it on the same level as a Canon EOS 1Ds or 1D. Additionally, being relatively cheaper (by half, even) than the 1Ds and 1D, I think its natural to just group it into the same realm as the 40D/30D/20D/10D. But anyway, back to the rumor.. so the rep said 18 months for consumer cameras.. and 3 years for professional cameras. That means we won’t see a Canon EOS 5D replacement for another year, most likely February 2009 at PMA. But rumors are saying 12.8 megapixel, availability of ISO 3200 (vs. ISO 1600 with the current 5D), improved auto-focus, blah blah.. nothing else worth noting.. but if these rumors are true, then the Canon EOS 5D Mark II may be what the Canon EOS 30D was to the Canon EOS 20D.. in other words, not much.

This may be true if Canon wants to place the 5D Mark II at a price point that is low enough to entice Canon prosumer camera owners to make the leap to full-frame. But again, if they introduce a Canon EOS 7D, that would probably be its job.

As for the Canon EOS 3D, I’ve always believed there was a spot in Canon’s line up for this “type” of camera.. something to fill in the gap between the Canon EOS 1D Mark III (MSRP $4,500) and the Canon EOS 5D (MSRP $3,299, although it can be found in the low $2,000 range now).. or Canon EOS 5D Mark II or whatever it may be. So if we go by the MSRPs, we’d be looking at a camera, presumably the Canon EOS 3D, in the mid-high $3,000 range, call it $3,799 or $3,899. But what I’ve heard recently is:

- 15.1 megapixel
- 14-bit color processing (no brainer considering all the latest Canons have this)
- 3″ LCD screen (hopefully high resolution)
- Available ISO 6400, possibly extendable to ISO 12800 (possible for marketing reasons vs. the Nikons)

For the Canon EOS 7D.. I’m not hearing much that is worth mentioning. I’ve seen a few rumors of a Canon EOS 7D that sound a lot like the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. In my opinion, if Canon is going to release a 7D, its going to have to be around 12 megapixels. However, where would that leave the Canon 5D Mark II? With the Canon 3D being a rumored 15 megapixels, there’s not much room for a Canon 5D Mark II and 7D. If the Canon 7D were what the Canon 5D is today, that may be a possibility if they wedge it into the high $1,000 range.. like $1,899 or $1,799.

Stay tuned..

Photo Gear | 2 Comments »

I’ve never really shot food pics.. in fact, its not something I would place high on my Photography To Do list.. but I’ve been asked to shoot some food for a restaurant. I won’t be getting paid, which is fine, since I wouldn’t even consider getting paid unless I was the Ansel Adams of Food, or at least close to it..

So in my search for tips on photographing food, I found a pretty good tutorial. It was originally “started” in October 2007. It looks like there were 4 “classes”. Participants posted pics to a Flickr group for critique. In any case, I found the tutorials pretty informative and useful. Check it out if you ever want to get serious about food photography: Nikas-Culinaria.com

And while I’m on the topic of photography tutorials.. if you ever wanted to learn serious flash photography from a newspaper photographer photojournalist, check out the Strobist.. last I checked, he had a tutorial once per year with a new lesson each week. His basic concept was that as a newspaper photographer, he couldn’t pack a crapload of gear. So he had to work with what he had, which was usually one flash. He explains Light very well. Check it out too if you’re in the checking-out kind of mood: The Strobist.

I’ll add some Food pics to my JAlbum if I have any worth sharing..

Photographs | No Comments »

It’s going to be the rivalry that is the topic of GTR discussion for the next few months since Nissan has publicly claimed that one of their objectives was to smoke the “benchmark” Porsche 911 Turbo. I’ve read differing reports, but apparently its already been done at Nurburgring in Germany.

My friend Rich emailed me a couple links tonight from Car Magazine in the UK. They were able to get a hold of the FIRST Nissan Skyline R35 GT-R that was imported into the UK. The owner of the car picked it up and drove it to Rockingham where they were conducting the test. The Porsche 911 Turbo was a “press car” and the commentators mentioned that the car was prepped for this test since Porsche wanted to know what the car would be tested against. Since the Porsche 911 Turbo suffers the “not my car” syndrome, the driver beats on the car for about 6 or 7 laps. His best time was 83.10 seconds (and if you watch the video, you’ll see he had many in the 84 second range).

After some goofing around (to dry the track, they destroy the rear tires of a BMW E92 M3), he jumps in the Nissan Skyline R35 GT-R. It seems like he only does ONE lap, mainly because he’s scared of trashing the car and its brand new and privately owned. But that one lap was 82.10 seconds. Yes, one (1) full second faster than the Porsche 911 Turbo. And again, this was his one and only lap. Even after getting out of the car, he felt the car could’ve gone faster if he could spend more time with it.

Anyhow, watch the video. The BMW E92 M3 makes a good drift car.

Part I: The Porsche 911 Turbo @ Rockingham, inner track, 83.10 seconds best lap

Part II: The Nissan Skyline R35 GT-R @ Rockingham, inner track, 82.10 seconds best lap

Cars | No Comments »